Florida vs California (Monday, 8:30 pm) - Florida Gators
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No. 24 Florida vs. California
* When: Monday, 8:30 p.m. * Where: Suncoast Credit Union Arena, Fort Myers, Fla.
* Records: Florida (3-0); California (2-2) * TV: FS1 (Brandon Gaudin and Bill Raftery) * Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey)
Projected Starters
Tyree Appleby (22) hit four 3-pointers Thursday night against Milwaukee.
Reserves
Position
Height / Weight
Class
Statistics
Kuany Kuany
F
6-9 / 194
Junior
3.3 ppg / 0.8 rpg
Andre Kelly
F
6-9 / 255
Senior
16.8 ppg / 10.8 rpg
Grant Anticevich
F
6-9 / 230
Senior
11.8 ppg / 7.5 rpg
Joel Brown
G
6-3 / 192
Junior
8.5 ppg / 3.8 apg
Jordan Shepherd
G
6-4 / 190
R-Senior
13.5 ppg / 2.0 rpg
The Breakdown
Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, which opened in 2016 and holds seats just 3,500, provides an intimate setting for its annually tournament featuring four high-major programs.
Series / Last Meeting
Florida and California have played twice before, with the Bears winning both. The last meeting, though, was way back on Nov. 25, 1988 in the Great Alaskan Shootout in Anchorage that opened the '88-89 season. The Bears prevailed 73-59. That was a decent Cal team that won 20 games and went to the NIT, and beat a UF team that would go on to capture the program's first SEC title and just the third NCAA Tournament berth in team history. Two years earlier, the Gators and Bears met in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, with Cal a team led by future NBA star and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson fashioning an 83-80 victory. ... The Gators are 2-0 against teams currently in the Pac-12 under Coach Mike White, with both wins coming in neutral-site games against Stanford. UF is 14-10 all-time against the league. ... No. 19 Ohio State (2-1) and soon-to-be ranked Seton Hall (3-0) will play in the other tournament first-rounder, with the OSU-SH and UF-UC winners playing in a Wednesday 8:30 p.m. championship game preceded by a consolation game at 6. The Buckeyes lost Thursday night in a big cross-state date against a very good Xavier team. The Pirates already have arguably the best win in the nation this season, having beaten Michigan 67-65 on the road Tuesday night, and are almost sure to be ranked when they play OSU Monday night.
Tale of the Tape
Florida
2021-22 Stats
Opponent
75.3
Scoring (points per game)
67.3
.429
Field-goal percentage
.415
.333
3-point percentage
.370
53.7
Scoring defense (opponents points per game)
68.3
.358
Field-goal percentage defense
.407
.298
3-point percentage defense
.358
19
KenPom.com overall ranking
120
27
KenPom.com offensive efficiency
181
16
KenPom.com defensive efficiency
72
255
KenPom.com adjusted tempo
341
Team Snapshots
The Gators
After crushing Milwaukee 81-45 Thursday night, they're off to their second straight 3-0 start, as well as the fifth in White's seven seasons. A win over Cal would give UF its third
Colin Castleton (12)
4-0 start with White at the helm. ... So far, forward Colin Castleton has led the way for the Gators. After garnering the season's first SEC Player of the Week honor, Castleton followed with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the UWM win. He is playing at an extremely high level on both ends, and also playing very smart defense that is allowing him to stay out of foul trouble and stay in the game. Castleton also is leading, but so are several guys on this team. ... With the flu bug gone, point guard Tyree Appleby became an energetic jitterbug against the Panthers. Appleby had the Gators in high gear early on. He's running the offense, initiating transition opportunities and also dropping 3-pointers. He made four against Milwaukee, including three after halftime, and is at 44.8 percent from deep on the season. ... Forward Anthony Duruji is at 66.2 percent from the floor and has nearly as many offensive rebounds (10) as defensive (11). His activity on the glass and ability to guard multiple positions is one of the big reasons for the team's early success. ... Guard Brandon McKissic is scoring about 10 points fewer than the 17.3 points he averaged at Missouri-Kansas City last season, but guess what? He doesn't care. McKissic is starting, playing nearly 29 minutes per game and is a defensive tone-setter on the perimeter. He will take open shots when there, though just three of 15 from distance thus far, but he's also crafty when driving the ball and knows how to use his body to get shots off against bigger players. He's made five of his eight shots inside the arc. ... Guard Myreon Jones is an underrated and understated defender and passer. And on a team with guards not only willing but thriving as rebounders, he might be the best one. Jones is regarded as the team's best 3-point shooter, but he's gotten off to something of a slow start, even at a very respectable 38.9 percent. ... Reserve guard/forward Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (8.3 ppg, 3.0 rpr) has fought through a groin injury and the flu in these early goings, but should be rounding up and close to full strength; if not this week, certainly by next. His contributions, especially on defense, have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated, especially given his health. ... After playing just two minutes against Florida State, backup 6-7 forward CJ Felder got 18 minutes against Milwaukee. That trend will continue. Just who will join Felder as the next reliable bench contributor (Center Jason Jitoboh? WingKowacie Reeves? Guard Elijah Kennedy?) could reveal itself in Fort Myers.
The Bears
For UF fans, there will be a familiar face on the UC sidelines. It'll belong to Coach Mark Fox, who was coach at Georgia from 2009-2018 until his firing after nine seasons with a 163-133 with
Cal coach Mark Fox
two NCAA berths on his resume. After a year off, Fox landed at Cal, where he's 24-39 early in his third season. Last year was a tough one for the Bears. They finished 8-19 and dead-last in what was an excellent all-around Pac-12 at 3-17. The team is projected to again finish last in the league standings. ... Cal opened the season with a pair of losses. First came a 23-point drubbing by UC-San Diego at home, followed by a close, three-point road defeat at UNLV. The Bears bounced back by beating San Diego and then Southern Utah in double-overtime, with forward Andre Kelly scoring 28 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Kelly, who is averaging a double-double while shooting nearly 61 percent from the floor and 79 percent from the free-throw line, should be another solid low-post test for Castleton. ... The UC defense, thus far, rates top-75 status, but UF will provide the Bears' first high-major test of the season. ... Cal lost its best player from last season, forward Matt Bradley (18.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg), to San Diego State via transfer, but the portal (as it tends to do these days) helped fill out the Bears' roster, most notably with guard Jordan Shepherd. His career spans Oklahoma and UNCC (11.9 points, 3.5 boards last season), with Jordan opting to use his COVID season at Berkeley. His six 3-pointers on the season leads the team. ... Forward Grant Anticevich is a stretch-4 who actually shoots it better from the arc (.467) than inside it (.367). ... Guard Joel Brown will run the offense. He has 15 assists vs. seven turnovers and needs to be watched hovering around the 3-point line (.429). ... Australian forward Kuany Kuany is a raw project who in four starts has managed to combine for just 13 points and three rebounds. ... Reserve guard Makale Foreman (5.0 ppg) is another double-transfer guy, having played Stony Brook and UT-Chattanooga before bouncing to Berkeley.
Numbers of Note
UF is looking to start a season with a fourth straight victory for the first time since 2017 when the Gators, led by 26 points on 5-for-5 shooting from distance, Egor Koulechov (4) bombed Stanford for 58 first-half points in an eventual 108-87 victory in opening-round play of the PK80 Classic in Portland, Ore.
* minus-1 — California's assist-to-turnover ratio, based on 43 assists and 44 turnovers. The Gators will be looking for those live-ball miscues to take advantage of what looks like a significant speed and athleticism advantage in this matchup. The faster the game, the better for Florida. At 341st nationally in tempo, the Bears are the ninth slowest-playing team in the country.
* plus-1.3 — Florida's assist-to-turnover ratio. Last season, it was minus-0.7. Castleton (6 assists, 9 turnovers) is the only player on the UF roster with more turnovers than assists.
* plus-10.3 — Florida's per-game rebounding margin this season, including a plus-6.0 on the offensive end.
* 28.9 — Average minutes per game for UF's starting five, with Fleming, the sixth man, at 19.0 per game.
* 2017 — The last year the Gators began a season with four consecutive wins. UF opened the '17-18 season ranked eighth in the country and beat Gardner-Webb, North Florida and New Hampshire at home, then defeated Stanford in opening-round play of the PK80 Classic in Portland, Ore.
Bottom Line
Who doesn't love these holiday tournaments? The Gators actually won the last they played in (their first in 10 years, by the way) when sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson led UF to victories over St. Joseph's, Miami and Xavier with an MVP performance in the 2019 Charleston (S.C.) Classic. UF '21-22 provided a preview of just how good it can be with the win over Florida State last week. Let's see how the Gators fare on a neutral floor and saddled with some (earned) early season expectations and ranking.
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